Summer

I'm dreaming of warm sandy beaches. I'm dreaming of days by the pool. I'm dreaming of fun in the afternoon sun, and week after week of no school.  I'm thinking of swim suits and sprinklers, imagining lemonade stands. I'm lost in a daydream of squirt guns and ice cream and plenty of time on my hands.  I'm picturing baseball and hot dogs, Envisioning games at the park, and how it stays light until late every night, and seems like it never gets dark.  I long to ride skateboards and scooters. I want to wear t-shirts and shorts. I'd go for a hike, or I'd ride on my bike, or play lots of summertime sports.  My revery turns to a yearning to draw on the driveway with chalk. It's really a bummer to daydream of summer while shoveling snow from the walk.
I am so glad that summer is actually here!!  

I could not be happier that summer is finally here.  We are now three weeks in and have accomplished so much!  It started out a little rocky but we have really made the most of it. Right after school ended, Toby's older brother, Terry, was injured in an accident and ended up passing away.  It was a huge tragedy for our family and even worse for Toby's parents.  The first week of summer we had his funeral.  During that time we kept Toby busy with all sorts of projects.  He ripped out the carpet and lanolium and replaced it with wood flooring.  It looks amazing.  On top of that project we decided to redo the kids rooms.  Kiley will be starting Junior High next year and really needs her own room, so we put her in her own room and the boys now share a room and bunk beds.  It turned out really great.  It was a good opportunity to clean out closets, under beds, etc.  Now, Kiley has her own room (which is super cute!) and the boys share.  We also redid our yard.  We tilled up the old yard that our dogs had demolished and added a gravel walkway.  Toby re-seeded and it is now growing so well.  Then in the backyard he filled in gravel, added a fire pit and is putting down railroad ties to seperate the grass from the gravel.  We also cleaned out the shed, which was an interesting task.  Our final project was a new security door and vanity for the bathroom, along with lattice work in the front yard for our honeysuckle to climb up.

Hard to believe it has only been three weeks of summer and we have accomplished all of this.  I think we are now ready to relax and enjoy the rest of our summer.  July is pretty booked with vacations, trips, and other "FUN" things.  Kiley has All-Star games in July as well, so it should be a fun summer.  I am looking forward to it.  Relaxation and enjoyment before the year starts up again and I begin working on my Master's Degree.  

I am most excited for our vacation this summer, a West Coast trip to the Redwood Forest and visiting best friends in Washington.  It should be so much for all of us and the kids will get to see a lot of country.

I am so GRATEFUL for being a teacher, especially in the summer!!